The Detroit Pistons are trying to build through the draft and have had mixed results.
They've hit on many of their first-round picks but have yet to find anyone outside of that. The best teams routinely find contributors in the second round or even outside the draft, as we've seen with teams like Miami, Denver and LA over the last few seasons.
Finding quality role players on lowball contracts is how you build depth around your stars, and so far, the Detroit Pistons have failed to use their later picks, two-way contracts or G-League affiliate to their advantage.
With the team struggling mightily and desperate for shooting, especially off the bench, this could finally be the year they get something positive out of a two-way contract.
The Pistons should bring Stanley Umude back
The Pistons' bench has been in an absolute freefall of late, as just about everyone is in a shooting slump at the same time. The bench cost them the last two games and right now, they could use an injection of shooting.
Umude has played well in the limited run he's gotten for the Pistons, scoring in double digits in every game in which he played more than 15 minutes. The sample size is small, but he's shooting 52 percent from long range in 15 games.
That has carried over to the G-League, as Umude is hitting 42.3 percent from long range on an outstanding 8.7 attempts per game. That's another small sample size, but Umude has a hot hand right now, and at least the Cruise are winning, so maybe he could bring some of that mojo back to the Pistons.
It couldn't hurt, as Isaiah Livers has struggled since returning from injury, and both he and Isaiah Stewart have been hesitant to even take shots, which has led to awkward possessions and turnovers. Umude is not afraid to let it fly and would at least give the Pistons another confident shooter off the bench.
It's a shame that a team that has had so many minutes available for young players has yet to develop one in the G-League, but Umude might represent their best chance, at least this season. He's taking and making 3-point shots at a high rate, so I'd love to see him get a shot to add some pop to a struggling bench.